The Living Tribunal's Herald
by BMarshal
Summary: The first, last, and only Herald of The Living Tribunal


**The Living Tribunal's Herald**

My story begins sometime shortly before the events known by cosmic forces as the Infinity War. Galactus had needed additional power and so come to my world to devour it. We were a near mirror to Earth of the 1980's. My planet was known as Relic 7, and we had begun as a slave species moved onto the planet to terra form it. After several decades it became very habitable, beyond the expectations of our masters. Compared to Earth Relic 7 was slightly larger, but had perhaps a quarter less water covering its surface. Obviously different wildlife species had evolved on it, but as human slave transports our DNA was pretty much identical to human life on Earth. Centuries later we threw off the yoke of slavery and chased our former lords away. As expected our species went through a Dark Ages period then, as we had very advanced technology but no one really understood it. In time we came through our own Renaissance and began advancing slowly ourselves.

My name was Bruce Christians, and I was something of a Native Shaman, Zen Monk, Holy Man out praying on our highest mountain when Galactus entered our atmosphere. Fate brought us together and I agreed to serve him as a Herald if he would spare our planet. The hunger was not truly upon him so Galactus agreed because he found himself without a herald at that moment in time, and had foreseen in part the coming Infinity War. Agreeing to his terms I was transformed by the Power Cosmic he infused into my essence and became known as "Holy Avenger, The Sword of Galactus."

This title was earned and feared by many throughout the outer edges of the Galaxy over the eons. Holy Avenger because I still considered myself a Holy Man of the Divine, but now serving an entity of the Universe known as Galactus, and as The Sword of Galactus because I cut through many civilizations. When I showed up I announced my presence with authority and gave the surviving life forms twenty four hours to leave their planet before Galactus would show up. I performed this role for One hundred and one years before a strange worm hole took me through a short time hop and I landed on Earth.

My appearance on Earth caused a bit of a stir coming so soon after the events of the Infinity War that Dr. Strange himself came and interviewed me. Quickly coming to the determination that I was no threat to the Earth, and was out of my own time loop he gave me a choice: he could return me immediately, or I could stay and essentially enjoy a little over a hundred years before catching back up to my original place in time. I decided to stay, and agreed to leave Earth alone and live as ordinary as I could, but I quickly found that difficult.

I came back to Dr. Strange's residence and asked to be a student at his martial arts magical academy, or at least that's how I thought of it. I had never really studied the martial arts, or magic, before. It was a great hundred years. As I did not need to eat, sleep, or rest like the rest of the students I quickly surpassed them. The power cosmic aiding me greatly with memorization of all the spells I was taught, along with the books I read. I powered through much of the library and was perhaps a near equal to Strange when I finally left.

Stephen had left me in charge of training numerous times in the last few decades of my time with him, and I had turned down several magical items that had offered themselves to me. With the power cosmic I didn't really need them, but I did accept one item near the very end of my time. Strange took me into a special vault for holding the most powerful of the artifacts and their one of them called to me. It was a plain gold ring, called the Ring of the Arch-Mage. It promised to aid me in my magical prowess in various ways. It lived up to its promise and more, and I parted ways on good terms with Strange. With the Ring at this point I was a little more powerful that Strange ever was at the height of his power. It truly acted as the One Ring of Magical Powers.

I was nearly caught back up in my own time, but decided to use the power cosmic to travel back in time to the beginning of Might Agamotto's time as the Sorcerer Supreme. I quickly impressed him and spent one hundred years studying under him, perfecting my knowledge of magic. I learned more spells, learned how to craft magical items of power, and of dark places and cosmic entities, and really helped him to plant himself firmly in magical lore, and erase my name from it. I was now well past Dr. Strange's powers when I returned to my own time line, and that would be enough. I quickly realized that I could simply time hop to a new Sorcerer Supreme and study with them, or go to a different dimension and study with their magical masters, but at some point enough power was enough.

I knew enough to do what I wanted to do. With Agamotto's help I had crafted my Belt of Wizardry and Psychic Amplification while he was crafting his so called Eye of Agamotto. It doubled my considerable magical powers; based largely off the same magical concept of Thor's belt doubling his already divine strength. More importantly it granted me the Psychic Powers of the Phoenix, but under my control. The Belt's power was tied to that of its wearer, but on me it had become an item of value equal to any of the infinity stones.

I traveled deep into the center of the Universe through time and found the star forge where Thor's Hammer Mjolnir would one day be created. I convinced the dwarves to help me forge a spear from the Uru Metal foundation. The magic I wove along with the dwarves crafting might is what made the star really start to die. I called our creation Ra's Spear of the Sun, and I poured my magical might along with the power of the Sun itself into it. If one reads any mythology concerning Ra's Weapons or Thor's Hammer you would have a good idea of what my spear could do, but it could do more.

I next went into deep space and meditated for a few days. The Power Cosmic had made me immortal, but using the power of magic I re-wove my mortal pattern during that time becoming much closer to Asgardian in strength, stamina, fortitude, but I added in a regeneration rate that would one day be equaled by Wolverine and Dead Pool. Onto this new frame the Power Cosmic settled again, and then I put on my trinity of magical items: the Ring of the Arch Mage, the Belt of Wizardry and Psychic Amplification, and Ra's Spear of the Sun.

I then travelled to the very center of the Universe and contemplated reality. Most of the item / essence / thing known as the Heart of the Universe's history is unknown, but it is known to a small group of cosmic beings that it is virtually omnipotent and was able to take on all the cosmic beings, the Living Tribunal included, during the Infinite War events. However, it was supposedly destroyed once Thanos brought his universe back into existence.

Through my magic I was able to reach back across time to the Essence and invited The Heart of the Universe into myself. At that moment several things happened including the arrival of The Living Tribunal, but first a touch of background on The Heart of the Universe from Adam Warlock's writings:

The Heart of the Universe is a temporal anomaly and in this analyst's opinion, placed where it was for convenience sake after the fact. It may have always existed or may have only just come into existence a few thousand years ago because The One-Above-All wanted it that way…

Discovered by an alien group of religious explorers, they tracked the unique temporal/mystical energies to a place outside of time and space. These aliens realizing the capacity to alter reality of the Heart, hoped to rewrite the fundamental aspects of the Universe using their own brand of logic and reason becoming the Celestial Order.

Using technology, they harnessed the power of the Heart and built a vast space station around it. Then they channeled the nigh-infinity capacity of the Heart to themselves and their agents and set out to bring their brand of order to the Universe.

In the story "The End", their Human agent goes mad and seeks to garner all of the power for himself. Akhenaten using his omniscience attempts to seek revenge on the Earth and then later claim the Primal Godhood as his prize. Unfortunately for him, Thanos, after his disaster with the Infinity Gauntlet was seeking a means to protect himself from his enemies while he contemplated what he should do now that his plan for the Ultimate Power had ended in failure.

These two enemies would meet and do battle over the power of the Heart of the Universe and Thanos, who being better prepared, having greater intellect and possibly because he had already experienced power over the fundamental forces of the Universe was better suited to the power would destroy the crazed but primitive genius that was Akhenaten.

Thanos does this by immersing himself purely into the Heart of the Universe. No technological interface, no limiting systems, no buffering space station. He becomes one with the Heart and is destroyed, save for his force of will. He rebuilds himself making it possible to understand the Heart and its true nature.

But as the Mad Titan soon realizes, he has all the power of the Infinity Gems and none of the limiters.

This power was complete mastery of the Universe as a whole, including all of the awareness of its state. His awareness was more complete and he was aware of things he never realized while he possessed the Infinity Gauntlet; he could see the fundamental underwriting of the very Universe and what it revealed was a universe so far out of balance, it teetered on the brink of total destruction through an enhanced entropy caused by the imbalances between the forces of life and death.

Thanos enraptured with his true omniscience, believing the power of the Heart of the Universe had been left unprotected and was without master, realized instead, the power was left there, by the previous Godhead, presumably The One-Above-All, for a person capable of destroying the Universe and then presumably remaking it…

While Thanos is uncovering these revelations, the rest of the Marvel Universe, Earth's champions, the abstract entities all gather together to prevent what they believe is the end of all things. Technically, they are correct, but for all the wrong reasons. They attack Thanos who in a fit of rage, destroys the entire Universe, bringing about the fate nobody wanted to happen (except maybe The One-Above-All, who was unavailable for comment).

Fortunately for the Universe, Adam Warlock was working with another entity of supreme capacity in a pocket reality temporarily beyond Thanos' awareness. Warlock has a conversation with Thanos about the nature of the Heart of the Universe and why Thanos was the one to find it.

Using the power of the Heart, Thanos rebuilds the Universe, removing the previous imbalances between Life and Death, restores the abstract entities, returns everyone to life who died because of his efforts but is destroyed in the process. Only Adam Warlock and Mistress Death bore witness. No one is aware, save those whose awareness transcends mortal boundaries, that this event has even occurred.

Fortunately I am one of those beings now, and so summoning The Heart of the Universe from Beyond I merged with it as completely as Thanos had, but it did not drive me insane or make me angry or have any of the negative side effects that Thanos experienced. By immersing myself purely into the Heart of the Universe with no technological interface, and no limiting systems, I becomes one with the Heart and was destroyed, save for my force of will. I rebuilt myself as before, but better in every way, some sublet and some not so subtle, but most importantly making it possible to understand the Heart and its true nature. I soon realized that I had all the power of the Infinity Gems and none of the limiters.

I am in the process of this realization when the Living Tribunal shows up, and we quickly have a mental conversation wherein I agree to be its Herald and it agrees to keep the knowledge that the Heart of the Universe is back secret, and thus keep every cosmic level being from trying to find and kill me. The only thing I have to do at this point is find Galactus and erase all memories he has of interacting with me; which I accomplish in a snap of a finger and am back listening to the Living Tribunal before it knows I was ever even gone.

I believe the One-Above-All would be ok with this arrangement as I was a temporary holder of its power, but working for its one voice in this Universe. I did use the power to increase the ability and powers of my Ring, Belt, and Spear to ridiculous levels. I then quickly went back and returned all the creature's lives that I had been responsible for ending while working for Galactus, and no one was the wiser. From that point on I slowed down to near normal time and became an errand boy for the Living Tribunal for a century or so. I showed that I was no threat, and eventually I just never came back from a mission and it didn't look for me, so I considered myself free.

Now it was time to make things interesting as I began to erase all trace of myself from history…

4


End file.
